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Robo Doc
Robo Doc was Team 101's original machine, which was entered in Series 2 of Robot Wars. It was sponsored by R Griggs and Co (manufacturer of Dr Martens boots) and cost £1000 to build. It reached the Arena Semi-Final stage in its heat, before being defeated by King Buxton, triggering the famous rivalry between King Buxton and Team 101's machines. Following Robo Doc's loss, Mike Franklin could not secure sponsorship for Series 3, and replaced Robo Doc with the famously inexpensive 101. Design Robo Doc was built like a World War I tank, a large box-wedge shape with stainless steel tracks running around the entire body. These tracks were salvaged from a scrapyard and originally made up an old bottle washing machine. They featured spikes to increase traction on the floor and allow the robot to run inverted, as well as climb obstacles up to 50cm in height. Robo Doc's power came from a Bosch 750W motor, giving it pulling power of 360kg. It also featured 1hp in pushing power as a result of its strong drive motors, which made Robo Doc the most powerful robot in its Heat. The armour was made from aluminium and the batteries were two 25 amp hour Yuasa gel batteries from Maplins. A two-stage chain drive geared down the motors. At the base of its wedge, Robo Doc featured a ramming blade intended to cut into opponents. Its weapon was initially supposed to be a chainsaw/angle grinder, however this was removed due to weight constrictions and replaced with a spike mounted on a lifting arm. Qualification Robo Doc was one of the few robots that was fully complete at the time of the Series 2 rehearsals. At the rehearsals, Robo Doc lost its chainsaw at one point but demonstrated its ability to drive up a wall and flip back down againhttps://web.archive.org/web/19990417052259/http://www.tinweb.com/robot/rehearsal/index.html. Robo Doc was successful in qualifying for the main series. Robot History Series 2 Robo Doc opted for the centre route, dodging Matilda and taking the ramp, bowling over the barrels. Robo Doc then ran head on into Bash, and was attacked by Sir Killalot. It qualified for the Trial with a distance of 10.9m. In the Trial, Robo Doc faced Matilda in the Joust. Just as King Buxton had before it, Robo Doc drove onto Matilda's forks. However, Robo Doc fell onto its back, and slammed into reverse, putting the large side of its wedge against Matilda and pushing. This succeeded in raising Matilda's wheels off the ground, and Robo Doc held on to the end. With Rottweiler being pushed back to the entry gate, Robo Doc qualified for the Arena, where it faced King Buxton. Robo Doc was hit side on by King Buxton, who shoved it with little trouble, into the PPZ, where it was buffeted by the pendulum, Matilda and Dead Metal. Robo Doc then rammed King Buxton, but was easily overpowered and pushed into Shunt before its own lifter could get put into play. After having some close shaves with the Pit, including almost reversing in and then being pushed towards the Pit by the combined efforts of Matilda and King Buxton, the match went to a Judges' decision, with Robo Doc ending the fight upside down. The judges awarded the victory to King Buxton, which progressed to the Heat Final as a result, while Robo Doc was eliminated from the competition. Robo Doc was also nominated for the Best Design award, but lost to Razer. Results |} Wins/Losses *Wins: 0 *Losses: 1 NOTE: Robo Doc's successful Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included Series Record Honours Nominations *'Best Design Award' - Robot Wars: The Second Wars Outside Robot Wars In September 2018, a fully intact Robo Doc made its first public appearance in nearly twenty years, appearing as a static display at the Robonerd event hosted by Simon Harrison. Robo Doc was posed next to its rival King Buxton for photography. Trivia *Robo Doc was the only robot from Team 101 not to reach at least a Heat Final. References External Links *Robo Doc website (archived) Category:UK Series competitors Category:Best Design Nominees Category:Tracked Robots Category:Robots from Northamptonshire Category:Robots with Lifters Category:Robots with Ramming Blades Category:Invertible Robots Category:Robots that only progressed in the Gauntlet or Trials Category:Robots which debuted in Series 2 Category:Robots which lost their only battle Category:Robots which only fought in Series 2 Category:Robots with cameo appearances in Series 3